The Hammer Museum has an interesting show up now called “Out of the Box,” which features Jacob Samuel’s limited-edition art books. Each book is a collaboration between Samuel and a wide range of artists, from performance artists Meredith Monk and Marina Abramavic (who seems to be everywhere right now) to old California staples Ed Ruscha and John Baldesarri. The work I found most arresting was by Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan artist whose work always stops me in my tracks. Known for her striking collages, she showed up at Samuel’s place with a bunch of fashion and porn magazines. Her work makes you wonder whether there’s a big difference between the two.

In my TED.com talk about the lack of copyright protection in the fashion industry, I talked a little bit about tattoo artists. The two-dimensional designs that they create are protected in the same way that any drawing or painting is protected. However, it’s been a standard practice in the industry to ignore those protections and to share, reuse, remix and refashion designs made by other artists. Apparently it wasn’t considered cool to ask The Man to protect your property: in fact, like most fashion designers, I suspect that tattoo artists aspired to be copied — their fame and their prestige depended upon it. Just like the fashion industry, it’s a reputation-based industry where the originator of a design is respected, revered . . . and, if the work resonates with people, it’s inevitably knocked-off. That’s how powerful design memes penetrate the collective consciousness. And when your work ends up indelibly printed on another person’s body, that’s a pretty clear testament to the desirability of your work and the deep commitment of your fanbase.

Some might argue that the level of design innovation in the tattoo industry should have suffered when artists decided not to exercise copyright protection over their work. After all, without ownership there is no incentive to innovate, and so lazy artists would only steal one another’s designs and the artform would wither. However, I would argue that the tattoo industry has become a thriving subculture (which is hardly “sub” anymore) precisely because they allowed a tight-knit reputation-based remix culture to blossom and flourish. The work of several tattoo artists is now worth a fortune and it’s migrated well beyond the tattoo parlor. Like grafitti artists, tattoo artists have found that there is a strong demand for their street credibility among advertisers and marketers who are desperate to align the products they’re promoting with the distinctive look and feel of an “authentic,” noncommercial subculture.

Enter Christian Audigier.

Audigier has worked with tattoo artists for years, commissioning work from them and reproducing their designs on an ever broader slate of consumer goods and apparel. Long Beach-based Buckley Crispin is the latest tattoo artist to sue Audigier for copyright infringement. Crispin claims he had sold some designs to Audigier for some specific uses, but he certainly never intended for his iconic work to end up on dog clothing.

This case is fascinating to me, of course, because both the fashion industry and the tattoo industry function as “low-IP” industries, where a robust remix culture dominates. I guess it shouldn’t be so surprising that a copyright battle has emerged where these two creative industries have intersected. While it’s cool in the tattoo industry to let your work be remixed by other artists, I’m guessing Crispin’s artistic community doesn’t think he’s an ass for suing Audigier, who is decidedly not part of that community. Crispin’s suit is about big money (potentially 100s of millions of dollars, according to the Daily Journal), but it’s also about reputation: managing reputation is serious business for a tattoo artist who’s work loses its authority when it’s slapped on doggie do-dads. While fashion designers have no copyright protection to fall back on, they must be strategic about the incorporation of anyone else’s work into their own. Audigier, it seems, has pushed his licensing empire too far, alienating the artists who define his own line.

I don’t know about you, but I would be mightily impressed by a guy who completely redecorates his home for a date with me. Turns out that male bowerbirds have wicked interior design skills, using soda cans, colorful plastic bags, CDs and all manner of flora and fauna to decorate their bachelor pads. (According to National Geographic, garlands of glistening caterpillar feces are quite appealing to the ladies).

The photos are pretty shocking: some of the detailed compositions (which can include towers up to seven feet high) look like they were made by human children with an eye for composition and color. Some blue-eyed birds only use blue objects to decorate their bowers (are they doing it because it sets off their eyes?) and others use mashed up plants to “paint” the bower interior, giving it a little visual pizzazz. But that’s not all! It turns out that the pulpy paint is also pretty tasty – female bowerbirds snack on it while the bachelor sings and dances for her.

This just gets better and better.

For those of you who are contemptuous of design (it’s just an unnecessary frill, right?) and think of it as a uniquely human folly, please consider the lesson of the bowerbird: humans aren’t the only ones who consider “life” and “style” in the same breath.

Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters conference, which is devoted to all things Twitter, is around the corner and so I was thinking about some of the better panels I saw at last year’s conference in Hollywood. One that has stuck with me was about copyright issues on Twitter. Here’s an excerpt from a blog I wrote about it:

The “Public Policy & Law” panel was one of the better ones (in my mind) because of the potential copyright issues surrounding the viral dissemination of tweets. Being “retweeted” is the gold-standard on Twitter, if your aim is to broadcast your idea to the broadest possible audience. But a copyright lawyer might argue that a tweet is a complete work, eligible for copyright protection, which endows the creator of the tweet the power to determine the distribution of her work. The lawyers on this panel suggested that about 90% of tweets are ineligible for copyright protection because they simply reiterate facts (which can never be copyrighted) – but what about the other ten percent? Aren’t those the tweets that are most worth re-tweeting? And who decides just how original an expression a tweet must be in order to be protected?

The issue of judging the degree of originality necessary in order to claim protection for a “new” work is one of the key stumbling blocks in the way of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who are trying – once again!! – to secure copyright protection for “original” fashion designs. Listening to judges and expert witnesses argue about whether a cocktail dress is truly original or not might be a great source of entertainment, but it’s probably not the best way to utilize our overburdened justice system.

Ron Geiger, a good friend of mine who is a copywriter watched my TED.com talk about the lack of copyright protection in the fashion industry and he suggested I take a closer look at the advertising industry. Here’s what he said:

Trademarks are running amok as brands try to own common phrases. (“You’re fired!”) For the most part, though, it’s still very much the wild west — everybody copies everybody — for better or worse. Maybe that’s why writers are called “copywriters.”

I haven’t seen anybody talk about advertising in this vein. Like fashion, advertising both fuels and feeds off the zeitgeist. A culture of copying is essential for both because the establishment and dissemination of a trend (which has a pretty clear commercial dimension) are dependent upon repetition and reiteration. Here was his response:

Exactly. It’s like the zeitgeist in a hall of mirrors. Each brand trying to reflect the trend that will capture their target’s attention. Repeating what they want to hear, but in a way that seems fresh. It’s never ending… fortunately. Because it pays my bills!

Narrating Behavior Change

It was exhilarating to participate in a five-day workshop in Mexico City hosted by the World Bank. Researchers, media makers and development experts from 15 countries shared knowledge about entertainment education techniques and worked together to develop new behavior change campaigns across Africa and South America. Find out more.

Fashion & Politics

Does fashion play a role in politics? You betcha! But all the fashion rules are turned on their head in a world where having a signature style can make you a target for derision. I had a lot of fun talking to Esquire about who's deviated from the uniform (e.g., Bernie) and why.
Find out more.

ONA LONDON

I'll be crossing the pond to attend the Online News Association's conference in London, March 6, 2015. The focus is on mobile and so I'll be presenting the Media Impact Project's latest how-to guide on Mobile Metrics. Find out more about
the session
.

Social Media in India

A big highlight of my year was a trip to India to speak at
APOGEE, a technical extravaganza including over 6000 students, 100 colleges, and 80 technical events at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani. I was joined by a star-studded crew, including Mansoor Khan, a titan of the Indian Film Industry, and Dr. Walter Lewin, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the MIT. Check out the
video of my talk on the social impact of social media in India, where digital social networking is booming (especially among women). Find out more about the event
here.

Mission Creek Festival

I'm very excited to keynote the Innovation Conference at the Mission Creek Festival, a wonderful music, film, lit and food fest that takes over the entirety of Iowa City. I'll be talking about Technologies of Taste and the impact of recommendation systems. Headliners include great indie bands like Real Estate, Foxygen and the clever Father John Misty, along with literary superstars like Lorrie Moore and that quirky Ander Monson. Join us March 31 - April 5!
Find out more.

Pop Culture & Science

Last Fall, I attended a timely workshop at MIT on
The Evolving Culture of Science Engagement. Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Culture Kettle, we explored how popular culture helps frame, inform and distort our understanding of science. Read the report.

Real Food Media Contest

I had so much fun juding the Real Food Media Contest last year that I'm doing it again. And I'm thrilled to see that Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Jamie Oliver, Michael Pollen, Eric Schlosser, and Alice Waters have signed on as well. We’ll be looking for short films that tell great stories about sustainable food and farming:
Check out the finalists and vote for your favorite..

On The Media

I met Bob Garfield, host of NPR's popular program "On The Media," at a terrific conference hosted by TTI/Vanguard, where both of us gave talks on some big problems in the media industry. Afterward, Bob interviewed me about Netflix's data-driven decision to produce the edgy "Orange is the New Black," and included it in an episode called "Dare to Stream.".

LEAP Symposium @ Art Center

I'm a huge fan of Art Center's Designmatters program and so there was no way I was going to miss their LEAP Symposium, which brought together over 100 national thought-leaders working at the intersection of design and social innovation. With IDEO's Jocelyn Wyatt and frog's Robert Fabricant in the room, it was bound to be great. A report has been published in Design Principles and Practices: just let me know if you want a copy ;-)

Imaging War: The Primetime War on Terror

This year Drexel University will devote its Great Works Symposium to the matter of media -- specifically, how we generate images of war. I'm excited to be giving a lecture on November 5 about my research on how the War on Terror is depicted in the most popular dramas on television. Check out the video and the full report. The findings might surprise you.

Championing Women & Diversity in the Media Business

I was thrilled to join Gail Berman, the first and only female executive to hold the top posts at both a major film studio and television network, and Jacqueline Hernandez, COO of Telemundo, to talk about the importance of diversity in media organizations. This event was co-sponsored by Ms. Magazine and USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. Watch the video.
Find out more.

Women Empowered at Cognizant

I'm flattered to have been invited back again to be the featured speaker at another Women Empowered event sponsored by Cognizant, a global IT services company that is taking gender diversity in the workplace very seriously. I'll be talking about social media and the need to recruit women in technology industries at the Computer History Museum March 4. Joining me in the conversation will be UT Austin's Tricia Berry, Fizziology COO Jen Handley and Cognizant's Ben Pring.
Find out more and register here.

TED Radio Hour

Guy Raz interviewed me about the culture of copying in the fashion industry in what he called “maybe our best show ever.” The show included one of my all-time faves, Steven Johnson, and Mark Ronson, who produced such inspired work with Amy Winehouse (may she rest in peace).
Check it out!.

My TED Talks

TEDxUSC: Lessons From Fashion’s Free Culture

I was extremely proud when TED.com picked up this talk that I delivered at TEDxUSC, the site of the first TEDx in the world. My talk focuses on the fascinating culture of creativity in the fashion industry, where copying is actually legal.

TEDWomen: Social Media & the End of Gender

I was very proud to share the stage with Madeleine Albright, Eve Ensler, Donna Karan, Sheryl Sandberg and a slew of other impressive speakers at the inaugural TEDWomen. My topic here? Social Media & the End of Gender.

TEDxOC: The Politics of Personal Taste

My fifth talk for the TED network is based on one of my favorite research projects at the Norman Lear Center. It was a special pleasure to speak at the stunning Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California.
Watch the video
.

TEDxPHX: Can Movies Really Change People?

Here's my most recent talk which is about how movies can have a measurable impact on people's knowledge and beliefs.

Follow me on Twitter

Fashion & The Creative Commons of Color

Anyone who knows me will realize immediately that I would not be able to resist an event called "Color Lust." I am thrilled to be the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary summit of the Color Marketing Group, which, probably unbeknownst to you, plays a role in determining the color of your furniture, your car upholstery, your nail polish . . . you name it. I'll be speaking about fashion and the ownership of color on October 28 in luscious art deco Miami!
Find out more.

TED Ads Worth Spreading

I was very proud to be a part of TED's Ads Worth Spreading challenge - an effort to acknowledge the power of advertising and to encourage those who wield that power to do something good with it. I was teamed up with
Kenzo Digital, a new media wunderkind (and an all around nice guy) to identify ad campaigns that touch a cultural nerve; ads that capture or catalyze a cultural movement, moment or event. You can check out the winners here!

Gastronomy & Technology in Barcelona

It's a techie foodie delight! I'll be delivering the keynote presentation during Gastronomy & Technology Days in Barcelona, October 18. Sponsored by the most famous chef in the world, Ferran Adria, and Telefonica, the biggest telecom company in Spain, this event will bring together people exploring the intersection between new technology and food.

Making Media Now

The Filmmakers Collaborative has asked me to speak about media-fueled impact at the Making Media Now conference at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design on June 8. My panel will discuss how cross-platform media and partnerships with NGOs, government and corporations can create measurable impact."
Find out more.